Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Palestinians: Health Services

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent to which Israel’s internal investigations into the killings of Palestinian health workers comply with international standards of (a) independence, (b) impartiality, (c) promptness, (d) thoroughness and (e) transparency.

Dr Andrew Murrison: We have not made an assessment of this matter. However we have stressed to Israel the need for independent and transparent investigations of deaths. We are deeply concerned by the significant deaths and injuries of civilians in Gaza over the last year. We urge the Israeli Government to publish the findings of the investigations launched by the Military Attorney General on 13 March. The UK remains concerned about the use of live ammunition and excessive force by the Israel Defense Forces. While Israel has the right to self-defence, it is vital that its actions are proportionate and seek to avoid civilian casualties. Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories remains a human rights country of concern.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) extent and (b) appropriateness of the use of Eritrean airfields and ports by the militaries of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to support their operations in Yemen.

Dr Andrew Murrison: We are aware of Emirati bases in Eritrea that are used for air and maritime resupply operations. This is a matter between the United Arab Emirates and Eritrea.

Palestinians: Health Professions

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Israeli Government’s internal investigations into the killings of Palestinian health workers comply with international standards of independence, impartiality, promptness, thoroughness and transparency.

Dr Andrew Murrison: While we have not made an assessment of this matter, we have stressed to Israel the need for independent and transparent investigations of deaths. We are deeply concerned by the significant deaths and injuries of civilians in Gaza over the last year. We urge the Israeli Government to publish the findings of the investigations launched by the Military Attorney General on 13 March. The UK remains concerned about the use of live ammunition and excessive force by the Israel Defence Forces. While Israel has the right to self-defence, it is vital that its actions are proportionate and seek to avoid civilian casualties.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government conducted an investigation into the airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on Al-Kubra Hall in Sanhan, Yemen on 8 October 2016.

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has made an assessment of whether the airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on Al-Kubra Hall in Sanhan, Yemen on 8 October 2016 was a legitimate military operation in line with international humanitarian law.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The UK takes alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) extremely seriously. Whenever the UK receives reports of alleged violations of IHL, we routinely seek information from all credible sources, including from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and international organisations. The UK regularly encourages Saudi Arabia to conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into reports of alleged violations of IHL. We continue to believe that Saudi Arabia has the best insight into their own military procedures, in line with the standards we set for ourselves and our allies. The Coalition has publicly stated that it is investigating reports of alleged violations of IHL, and that any lessons learned will be acted upon.​

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish a response to EDM 2333 on the Islamic revolutionary guard corps.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Government is deeply concerned by Iran’s destabilising involvement in regional conflicts, including in Syria and Yemen, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and IRGC Qods Force, and by reported financial and military support to militant and proscribed groups, such as Hizballah and the Houthis in Yemen. I raised these concerns directly during my visit to Iran in June 2019. We also condemn the IRGC’s involvement in recent attacks on shipping, including the attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman (for which the IRGC was almost certainly responsible) and the seizure of the UK-flagged vessel Stena Impero. The IRGC as a whole remains subject to EU and US sanctions; a large number of associated individuals and entities are also designated. We continue to review the list of proscribed groups, but do not routinely comment on consideration of specific organisations.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish the transcripts of conversations between his Department and its Iranian counterpart on the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, referred to by the former Minister of State in his resignation letter of 22 July 2019.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not publish transcripts of discussions between Ministers or senior officials and their international counterparts.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date discussions between his Department and its Iranian counterpart on the possible release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe were brought to a halt.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Since being made aware of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s detention in 2016, the Government has raised her case at the most senior levels of the Iranian Government and continues to do so; there has been no pause in this lobbying. Most recently, the former Foreign Secretary raised his concerns with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 20 July. We urge Iran to unconditionally release Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe so she can be reunited with her family.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the negotiations between the UK and Iran to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe were halted.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Since being made aware of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s detention in 2016, the Government has raised her case at the most senior levels of the Iranian Government and continues to do so; there has been no pause in this lobbying. Most recently, the former Foreign Secretary raised his concerns with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 20 July. We urge Iran to unconditionally release Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe so she can be reunited with her family.

Cabinet Office

Electronic Government: Fraud

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to tackle third party websites from posing as Government entities.

Oliver Dowden: Government organisations work collaboratively to address misleading websites. Websites that directly attempt to defraud users (for example, by copying government design and logos) are tackled directly and taken down.Sites can be challenged through the company that sold them the web address, or through organisations that administer the web address system. Government may also pursue site owners through trading standards bodies or through direct legal challenge.Some sites are able to operate within legal boundaries (for example, by displaying disclaimers on their sites). In these cases, government works to optimise government sites for indexing by search engines so they are easy to find. Where identified, we challenge sites that pay for prominent positioning in search returns by reporting them to the search provider.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will commission research on the effect of levels of functional illiteracy on electoral registration rates.

Oliver Dowden: In its democratic engagement plan, Every Voice Matters: Building a Democracy That Works For Everyone, the Government explored key barriers to registration identified through research and face to face engagement. We are tackling these barriers, including those faced by survivors of domestic abuse, homeless electors and young people, and have reported on our progress in our follow up report, Democratic Engagement: Respecting, Protecting and Promoting our Democracy.Although it did not emerge as a factor in its own right, we are aware of the potential contribution that lack of literacy makes to the under registration of a number of groups, such as those with learning disabilities, homeless people and those with specific language barriers.The voter registration website is reviewed regularly to ensure it meets the Government’s service design standards to make it as easy to use as possible and we have produced easy read guides to registering to vote in partnership with Mencap. We are also working with civil society organisations to encourage engagement with those under registered groups who are more likely to experience lower levels of literacy.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his most recent estimate is of the electoral registration rate for each region of the UK.

Oliver Dowden: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information. Registration statistics, including a breakdown of the numbers of people registered in each UK region, are available from the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) website: www.ons.gov.uk  Estimates of the completeness and accuracy – including those for regions across the UK – are published by the Electoral Commission. The latest report on register completeness and accuracy was produced by the Electoral Commission in 2016 and is available online: www.electoralcommission.org.uk.

Electoral Registration Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) central Government and (b) local government databases electoral registration officers may use in undertaking their registration functions.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) national and (b) local authority databases may be inspected by electoral registration officers.

Oliver Dowden: Regulation 23 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 and the Representation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001 gives Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) wide-ranging powers to request whatever information and data they require for the purposes of maintaining the electoral registers. EROs are therefore entitled to request datasets from organisations which would help them undertake their registration functions.Online applications via the Register to Vote website are verified via the Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service (IER DS) using Department for Work and Pensions data. EROs also use local government data in carrying out their registration duties. Commonly used datasets include council tax, housing and housing benefit data, adult social care data, and school admissions data.

Electoral Registration Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many electoral registration officers have been convicted of an offence related to failure to take sufficient steps to register electors under section 9A of the Electoral Registration Act 2006.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 20 July 2010, Official Report, column 298W, on Electoral Register, how many electoral registration officers have been convicted of an offence related to failure to take sufficient steps to register electors under section 9A of the Electoral Registration Act 2006.

Oliver Dowden: The Cabinet Office is not aware of any convictions of electoral registration officers under section 9A of the Electoral Registration Act 2006.

Electoral Registration Officers: Local Government Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what additional central Government funding was made available to electoral registration officers for electoral registration in each of the last five years; and which local authorities were successful in bidding for that funding.

Oliver Dowden: Since 2015, Cabinet Office has provided five years of annual grant funding to Electoral Registration Officers in England, Scotland and Wales to cover the additional cost that Individual Electoral Registration (IER) introduced to the registration system.Initial in-year allocations are paid to all local authorities in England and Wales, and valuation joint boards in Scotland as early in the financial year as possible. If local authorities/valuation joint boards require further additional funding, they are required to submit a justification led bid (JLB) towards the end of the financial year. Since 2015, the Cabinet Office has provided £96M to cover these additional costs● 15/16, £27M● 16/17, £21M● 17/18, £18M● 18/19, £16M● 19/20, £14M (initial allocations announced and payments being processed – does not include JLB funding.)Since 2015/16, 50% of the Local Authorities and Valuation Joint Boards have received additional JLB funding on top of the initial allocation in at least one of the years of funding.It is anticipated that plans to reform the annual canvass of electors will significantly reduce the overall cost of electoral registration and place electoral registration services on a more sustainable footing.

Department of Health and Social Care

Asthma: Death

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his has taken to implement the recommendations of the 2014 report entitled, National Review of Asthma Deaths.

Seema Kennedy: The Department collaborated with the Royal College of Physicians on the National Review of Asthma Deaths and welcomed this report. Since its publication, significant improvements have been made in asthma care.Respiratory disease, including asthma, is a clinical priority within the NHS Long Term Plan, which aims to improve outcomes for patients through earlier diagnosis and increased access to treatments. The Respiratory Delivery Board will take forward respiratory proposals set out in the Plan by working with key partners.The National Health Service is supporting the national asthma audit programme which provides data on a range of indicators to show improvements and opportunities in asthma outcomes. NHS RightCare will be publishing an asthma toolkit later this year to support local commissioners and systems in delivering quality care. A best practice tariff for asthma, which aims to reduce variation in asthma care, is also in development.The current quality outcomes framework (QOF) indicators for asthma are in consultation and changes for the annual review indicators may include data on asthma control; exacerbations; and written personalised action plans.As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, pharmacies in primary care networks will undertake medicine reviews for asthma patients. This will include education on inhaler use and uptake of dry powder and smart inhalers where clinically appropriate.Finally, the NHS Long Term Plan commits to offering stop smoking interventions to all inpatients, pregnant women and high-risk outpatient specialties by the end of 2023/24. Recording of smoking status is part of the proposed QOF indicator for asthma.

Asthma: Death

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken in response to the publication of three Regulation 28 (Prevention of Future Death) Reports on asthma deaths since 2015.

Seema Kennedy: The National Health Service is working closely with voluntary sector partners to improve patient outcomes for those with severe asthma and a National Health Service Cardiovascular Disease-Respiratory national programme has been developed in line with recommendations from the Taskforce for Lung Health.Both respiratory disease and the health of children and young people are priority areas in the NHS Long Term Plan, which aims to improve respiratory care through earlier diagnosis and increased access to treatments. The Respiratory Delivery Board will take forward respiratory proposals set out in the Plan, while the Children’s Transformation Board will oversee work to review national asthma policy and existing clinical guidelines.The current quality outcomes framework indicators for asthma are in consultation and changes for the annual review indicators may include data on asthma control; exacerbations; and written personalised action plans. NHS RightCare will be publishing an asthma toolkit later this year to support local commissioners and systems in delivering quality care. A best practice tariff for asthma, which aims to reduce variation in asthma care, is also in development.

Asthma: Health Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication of three regulation 28 (Prevention of Future Death) Reports on asthma deaths, what steps he is taking to ensure that severe asthma sufferers are referred to specialist services.

Seema Kennedy: It is expected that National Health Service patients with severe asthma are referred to their specialist asthma service where they will receive appropriate investigation and treatment. All specialised providers are required to develop a networked model of care as the vehicle for delivering an optimal pathway and maximising patient outcomes and experience. All specialised services report against national quality metrics for severe asthma services on an annual basis. Commissioner action is initiated with individual hospitals to address significant issues.The NHS England Specialised Commissioning team is running a severe asthma collaborative project to improve patient experience, outcomes and safety through improved access to specialist multidisciplinary teams (MDT) for assessment and review.All patients newly diagnosed with severe asthma will receive an MDT review of their care by a specialist asthma MDT, hosted by one of the 14 designated severe asthma centres in England. Patients requiring acute admission will be cared for within a commissioned severe asthma centre where clinically appropriate.

Asthma: Health Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure compliance with NICE guidelines on Quality Statement 4 of Quality Standard 25 on Asthma in relation to the a person having a follow-up appointment with their GP within two working days of treatment in an emergency care setting for an asthma attack.

Seema Kennedy: The 2019 general practitioner Contract commits primary care to seven national service specifications. In line with the NHS Long Term Plan commitments, the Structured Medications Review and Optimisation Specification will have a dedicated focus on priority groups, including people with asthma, to improve medicines optimisation and safety.NHS RightCare will be publishing an asthma toolkit outlining the optimal pathway for patient care later in 2019. The toolkit has been developed in consultation with clinicians, voluntary sector organisations and patient groups with the aim of supporting local commissioners and systems to deliver quality care for people with asthma.

Asthma: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking in response to the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah to (a) improve asthma care and (b) monitor and reduce the effect of air pollution on asthma outcomes.

Seema Kennedy: The National Health Service is working closely with voluntary sector partners to improve patient outcomes for those with severe asthma and an NHS Cardiovascular Disease-Respiratory national programme has been developed in line with recommendations from the Taskforce for Lung Health.Both respiratory disease and the health of children and young people are priority areas in the NHS Long Term Plan, which aims to improve respiratory care through earlier diagnosis and increased access to treatments. The Respiratory Delivery Board will take forward respiratory proposals set out in the Plan, while the Children’s Transformation Board will oversee work to review national asthma policy and existing clinical guidelines.The current quality outcomes framework indicators for asthma are in consultation and changes for the annual review indicators may include data on asthma control; exacerbations; and written personalised action plans. NHS RightCare will be publishing an asthma toolkit later this year to support local commissioners and systems in delivering quality care. A best practice tariff for asthma, which aims to reduce variation in asthma care, is also in development.

Asthma: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that asthma sufferers are referred for specialist treatment.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2019 to Question 257660 on Asthma: Health Services, what processes he plans to put in place to ensure appropriate referrals of NHS patients to specialist centres for severe asthma services.

Seema Kennedy: It is expected that National Health Service patients with severe asthma are referred to their specialist asthma service where they will receive appropriate investigation and treatment. All specialised providers are required to develop a networked model of care as the vehicle for delivering an optimal pathway and maximising patient outcomes and experience. All specialised services report against national quality metrics for severe asthma services on an annual basis. Commissioner action is initiated with individual hospitals to address significant issues.The NHS England Specialised Commissioning team is running a severe asthma collaborative project to improve patient experience, outcomes and safety through improved access to specialist multidisciplinary teams for assessment and review.

Asthma: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2019 to Question 257660 on Asthma: Health Services, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS treatment for people with severe asthma.

Seema Kennedy: The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to improving outcomes for those with respiratory disease in England to match, or exceed, our international counterparts. To achieve this, the National Health Service is working closely with voluntary sector partners to improve patient outcomes for those with severe asthma and an National Health Service Cardiovascular Disease-Respiratory national programme has been developed in line with recommendations from the Taskforce for Lung Health.The NHS England Specialised Commissioning team is running a severe asthma collaborative project to improve patient experience, outcomes and safety through improved access to specialist multidisciplinary teams for assessment and review. All specialised providers are required to develop a networked model of care as the vehicle for delivering an optimal pathway and maximising patient outcomes and experience. All specialised services report against national quality metrics for severe asthma services on an annual basis. Commissioner action is initiated with individual hospitals to address significant issues.

Asthma: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase the number of severe asthma centres.

Seema Kennedy: There are currently 14 severe asthma centres in England. There are no plans to increase the number of centres, as severe asthma collaborative networks will improve severe asthma care within localities. All specialist providers are required to develop a networked model of care as the vehicle for delivering an optimal pathway and maximising patient outcomes and experience.

Beta Agonists: Safety

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to monitor the safety of the prescription of short-acting beta agonists.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to monitor the safe prescription of oral corticosteroids to treat asthma.

Seema Kennedy: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for monitoring the safety of all healthcare products in the United Kingdom, including short-acting beta agonists and oral corticosteroids to treat asthma. They receive information about safety issues from patients and clinicians through the Yellow Card Scheme. They review the product if necessary and take action to minimise risk and maximise benefit to the patients. Decisions about prescribing rest with the doctor or other prescriber who has clinical responsibility for the particular aspect of a patient’s care.

Obesity: Health Education

Eleanor Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce obesity related stigma; and if he will make a statement.

Seema Kennedy: Our focus is on tackling the causes of obesity, improving diets and preventing ill health. Many of the measures in the chapters of the childhood obesity plan will have an impact on tackling obesity and improving diets across all age groups.In addition, Public Health England encourages the population to follow a healthy balanced diet through the 5 A Day campaign, Change4Life and OneYou social marketing campaigns.

Preventive Medicine: Finance

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he plans to make available for the delivery of the forthcoming green paper on prevention.

Seema Kennedy: Specific spending commitments in the Green Paper will be met from existing budgets. The future of budgets outside of the NHS England resource settlement will be confirmed at the Spending Review.

Preventive Medicine: Finance

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming green paper on prevention will include (a) a full analysis of the budget needed to implement the content of that paper and (b) an indication of the sources of funding to deliver the content of that paper.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming green paper on prevention will include a commitment to fully fund local authority public health services.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming green paper on prevention will include commitments on (a) HIV infection and (b) sexual health.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government plans to publish its green paper on prevention.

Seema Kennedy: The Green Paper ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’ was published on 22 July 2019.

Influenza: Vaccination

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the take-up of the flu vaccination among people most at risk of flu.

Seema Kennedy: Those most at risk from flu including people over 65, pregnant women, and those in clinical risk groups are offered annual vaccination. At-risk patients are targeted by the Public Health England and NHS England marketing campaign, Help Us Help You, which includes television, radio and advertising supported by public relations, digital search and partnership activity. Communications this year will include messages about a wider range of flu vaccines now available which offer better protection. Help Us Help You can be viewed at the following link:https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/81-help-us-help-you/overviewThe annual flu letter is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/annual-national-flu-programme-2019-to-2020-1.pdfThose eligible for flu vaccination can get the vaccine from their general practitioner, or in a scheme introduced in 2015/16, through local pharmacies, thus widening patient access. 80% of maternity service providers also offer vaccination to pregnant women.As part of its assurance process NHS England works through its regional teams and clinical commissioning groups to ensure that practices with lowest uptake are contacted and action is taken to increase vaccination rates.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) NHS England and (b) Bristol City Council on the routine commissioning of PrEP in Bristol.

Seema Kennedy: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is not currently a routinely commissioned service but is provided through the three year PrEP Impact Trial which ends in autumn 2020. Meanwhile, work is now starting to consider future commissioning for PrEP after the Trial has ended. No discussions have been held with Bristol City Council.

Department of Health and Social Care: Working Hours

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much time off in lieu has been taken by staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost via an extensive clerical exercise.

Dental Services: Children

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in which areas of England has the Starting Well Core scheme been made available to NHS dental practices.

Seema Kennedy: The Starting Well Core initiative has been developed by NHS England to promote early preventative care for children aged 0-2 as well as increasing dental access and attendance. The initiative has been made available to all local National Health Service commissioning teams in England for local use. Decisions about whether or not to adopt the Starting Well Core initiatives is a local decision and based on local need.

General Practitioners: Bristol West

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GPs per 1000 of population there were in Bristol West in each year since 2010.

Seema Kennedy: The number of general practitioners (GPs), excluding locums, per 1,000 patients in the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG since 2015 is show in the attached table. GP locums are excluded as improvements have been made to GP locum recording methodology and figures are not comparable prior to December 2017. Data is not included prior to 2015 as improvements were made to the methodology for recording all staff working in general practice in September 2015 and data prior to this is not comparable. 



GPs per thousand patients in Bristol
(Word Document, 21.71 KB)

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 272771 on Heart Diseases: Health Services, if he will estimate the number of patients with structural heart diseases who have been unable to access transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedures by region in each year from 2015 to 2019; and if he will make an assessment of the effect of those levels of access on the mortality rates of those patients.

Seema Kennedy: The requested information is not centrally held and therefore it is not possible to make the requested estimate and/or assessment in relation to access to transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures.

Obesity: Children

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include a target to reduce childhood obesity inequality in the Green Paper on Prevention.

Seema Kennedy: In the second chapter of the childhood obesity plan, published in June 2018, we have set a bold ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce the gap in obesity between children from the most and least deprived areas by 2030. Through chapter three of the childhood obesity plan, published on 22 July as part of ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’, we are looking at a range of further options to tackle obesity. ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’ is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/advancing-our-health-prevention-in-the-2020s

NHS: Compensation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent by the NHS on settling compensation claims in the last 12 months.

Seema Kennedy: NHS Resolution operates both clinical and non-clinical schemes for dealing with claims made against NHS organisations and independent sector providers of National Health Service care in England. Its latest Annual Report, published on 11 July 2019, shows the payments (damages, claimant and defence costs) relating to claims for the financial year 2018-19 was £2,422 million.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2019 to Question 273310 on HIV Infection: Drugs, whether work has started on future commissioning of PrEP; and which individuals will be involved in that work.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2019 to Question 273310 on HIV Infection: Drugs, if he will take steps to ensure that all commissioning routes are considered before April 2020 so that the patients currently on the impact trial do not face a hard end to the treatment in September 2020.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2019 to Question 273310 on HIV Infection: Drugs, if he will take steps to ensure that commissioning routes are established before September 2020.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2019 to Question 273310 on HIV Infection: Drugs, if he will make it his policy to implement a long term plan for PrEP before the impact trial ends in September 2020.

Seema Kennedy: Officials are working with NHS England and Public Health England to consider long-term commissioning options and a further statement will be made in due course.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Guidance on how to prepare for Brexit if there's no deal, published by the Department for Exiting the European Union, what parts of the plan for exporting GM food and animal products in the event of a no deal Brexit have been implemented.

Seema Kennedy: The Food Standards Agency has advised that the guidance addressed the issue that, in the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario and in line with the European Union requirements, United Kingdom businesses holding EU authorisations for genetically modified (GM) food or feed, or for animal feed additives, would need to designate a representative established in the EU or European Economic Area. It set out the action these businesses should take to mitigate the associated risks, which we understand have been taken. Under any EU exit scenario, it will remain the case that only GM food and animal feed that is authorised for placing on the EU market can be traded with the EU.

Electronic Cigarettes and Tobacco: Labelling

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Guidance on how to prepare for Brexit if there's no deal, published by the Department for Exiting the European Union, what parts of the plan for labelling tobacco products and e-cigarettes in the event of a no deal Brexit have been implemented.

Seema Kennedy: The Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 Statutory instrument (SI) was laid on 1 November 2018. The primary purpose of the SI is to ensure tobacco control legislation continues to function effectively after exit day, in the event that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal. In particular, the amendments contained in this instrument allow for necessary changes to the picture warnings on tobacco products and the process by which tobacco products and e-cigarettes are notified to Public Health England and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, respectively.The European Commission holds the copyright to the library of picture warnings used on tobacco packaging, therefore in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal we would no longer be able to access the library. An agreement was reached with the Australian Government for a licence to use their tobacco picture warnings in a ‘no deal’ scenario. The above SI repeals the requirement to use the EU set of picture warnings and introduces the new set of picture warnings as Schedule A1.The Department has developed a new domestic notification system which would allow producers to notify tobacco products and e-cigarettes in accordance with the legislation, in the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2019 to Question 260035, how many tumour profiling tests to guide adjuvant chemotherapy decisions for early breast cancer were delivered in each (a) NHS Trust and (b) Genomic Laboratory Hub for the most recent 12 months for which data are available.

Seema Kennedy: This information is not held centrally.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Sir Mike Richards on workforce requirements to support the implementation of breast screening recommendations in the Independent Review of National Screening Programmes in England.

Seema Kennedy: Professor Sir Mike Richards published his interim findings of his Independent Review of Adult Health Screening in May. The Government is considering Professor Sir Mike’s interim recommendations carefully, alongside the recent report on screening published by the Public Accounts Committee, the recommendations made in the Independent Breast Screening Review and the commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan.Workforce requirements to support delivery of our national screening programmes are included in scope of Professor Sir Mike’s review, with specific reference to diagnostic capacity and the need to improve uptake and address inequalities. Whilst we await publication of Professor Sir Mike’s final report, Ministers and officials in the Department are continuing to engage with Professor Sir Mike on how to improve effective delivery of our national screening programmes, which includes addressing the workforce requirements.

Obesity: Children

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of children in reception class in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, and (d) England have been classified as (i) overweight and (ii) obese in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of children in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, and (d) England have been classified as (i) overweight and (ii) obese in Year 6 in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, and (d) England have been classified as (i) overweight and (ii) obese in Year 11 in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of children in Year 11 in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, and (d) England have been classified as (i) overweight and (ii) obese in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of adults in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, and (d) England have been classified as (i) overweight and (ii) obese in each year since 2010.

Seema Kennedy: The attached tables set out the proportion of both children, in Reception year and Year Six, and adults classified as overweight or obese in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber and England. Data are not collected on children in Year 11.



Obesity data
(Word Document, 30.84 KB)

Fish: Hygiene and Safety

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the safety and food hygiene rules for the transport of smoked fish (a) within and (b) to the UK is governed by (i) UK or (ii) EU regulations.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 24 July 2019



The longstanding rules governing the transport of food of animal origin, including smoked fish are provided by European Union food safety and hygiene regulations which apply directly to the United Kingdom. This legislation lays down effective and proportionate food safety and hygiene controls throughout the food chain, from primary production to sale or supply to the food consumer. In England, The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 provides for the enforcement of certain provisions of EU food safety hygiene legislation. It also provides national law for certain elements including temperature control in retail establishments. Parallel legislation applies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Kawasaki Disease: Health Services

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of (a) the potential cost savings of improving early identification and treatment of Kawasaki disease and (b) the potential consequent reduction in demand for long-term specialist care for children with that disease.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 24 July 2019



The requested information is not available and therefore no such estimate has been made.NHS Improvement has previously published a Patient Safety Alert for the attention of providers of National Health Service-funded care to emphasise the high risk and atypical presentation of coronary artery aneurysms, coronary thrombosis and myocardial ischaemia or infarction in patients with Kawasaki disease, and to highlight the importance of specialist advice.Guidance is also available from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the assessment and initial management of fever in children under five, and this guidance includes recommendations on recognising the symptoms of Kawasaki disease.

Kawasaki Disease: Health Services

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to (a) enable early treatment and (b) increase awareness amongst healthcare providers of Kawasaki disease .

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 24 July 2019



NHS Improvement has previously published a Patient Safety Alert for the attention of providers of National Health Service-funded care to emphasise the high risk and atypical presentation of coronary artery aneurysms, coronary thrombosis and myocardial ischaemia or infarction in patients with Kawasaki disease, and to highlight the importance of specialist advice.Guidance is also available from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the assessment and initial management of fever in children under five, and this guidance includes recommendations on recognising the symptoms of Kawasaki disease.NICE’s clinical guidelines help healthcare professionals deliver the best possible care based on the best available evidence; the guidelines are not mandatory, although health and care commissioners are expected to take them fully into account.

Kawasaki Disease: Medical Records

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a patient registry on Kawasaki disease.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 24 July 2019



No such assessment has been made.

NHS: Drugs

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to issue guidance to health professionals on the Serious Shortage Protocol.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 24 July 2019



A Serious Shortage Protocol is an additional tool to manage serious medication shortages and may be used in the exceptional and rare situation when other measures have been exhausted or are likely to be ineffective.At present we are currently working on the governance process for developing Serious Shortage Protocols, should one be required, through engagement, including with professional bodies and patient groups. Following this we will issue guidance to health professionals in due course.The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, the organisation who represent National Health Service community pharmacy contractors in England, have developed a briefing note to support community pharmacies, who will need to consider training and changes to their standard operating-procedures to take account of the potential new processes.Any Serious Shortage Protocol would be developed by senior, specialist doctors and pharmacists, with input from national experts, Royal Colleges and specialist societies. If a Serious Shortage Protocol is to be authorised then there will also be engagement with the relevant patient groups, who can assist in informing patients. Pharmacists still have to use their professional judgment as to whether supplying against the protocol rather than the prescription is appropriate and provide the patient with relevant information. If they determine supply is not appropriate, then the patient should be referred back to their prescriber.

NHS: Drugs

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has provide information to patients on changes to the provision of medicines as a result of the serious shortage protocol; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions the Government has had with (a) patient groups and (b) professional bodies on the development of the serious shortage protocol.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 24 July 2019



A Serious Shortage Protocol is an additional tool to manage serious medication shortages and may be used in the exceptional and rare situation when other measures have been exhausted or are likely to be ineffective.At present we are currently working on the governance process for developing Serious Shortage Protocols, should one be required, through engagement, including with professional bodies and patient groups. Following this we will issue guidance to health professionals in due course.The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, the organisation who represent National Health Service community pharmacy contractors in England, have developed a briefing note to support community pharmacies, who will need to consider training and changes to their standard operating-procedures to take account of the potential new processes.Any Serious Shortage Protocol would be developed by senior, specialist doctors and pharmacists, with input from national experts, Royal Colleges and specialist societies. If a Serious Shortage Protocol is to be authorised then there will also be engagement with the relevant patient groups, who can assist in informing patients. Pharmacists still have to use their professional judgment as to whether supplying against the protocol rather than the prescription is appropriate and provide the patient with relevant information. If they determine supply is not appropriate, then the patient should be referred back to their prescriber.

Headaches: Medical Treatments

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the adequacy of provision of treatment for people with migraines.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 24 July 2019



The majority of patients with migraine can be managed through routine access to primary and secondary care. Migraine management is identified within the core competencies for the care for people with neurological conditions in the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) GP curriculum. Migraines are also identified as an key area of clinical knowledge in the RCGP Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service and is a key part of GPs’ qualifying exams. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, ‘Headaches: Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults’, published in 2012 and updated in 2015, sets out evidence based best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment and support of people who suffer from migraines. The usual treatment approaches to migraine are designed to either stop or prevent attacks. Treatments for acute migraine attacks include medications such as analgesics, triptans and anti-emetics (as recommended in NICE's guideline on headaches in over 12s).Treatments to stop or reduce the frequency of migraine attacks include medications such as beta blockers, tricyclic antidepressants and antiepileptics.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2019 to Question 273399 on HIV Infection: Salford, if he will take steps to ensure that gay and bisexual men in Salford have access to PrEP.

Seema Kennedy: The pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Impact Trial is managed by the Trial Sponsor. Recruitment to places in the Trial is managed locally by participating clinics. Following funding from NHS England to pay for extra PrEP drug and research costs and the my Rt. hon Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s announcement on 30 January that the number of places on the PrEP Impact Trial would be doubled to 26,000, expansion of the Trial is now underway across the country. Participation in the Trial is on a voluntary basis and it is for research clinics and local authorities to decide whether they wish to take part and the number of allocated places they can accept.

Medicine: Research

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of UK capacity in translational research.

Caroline Dinenage: The Medical Research Council (MRC) covers basic through to translational research, with translational research and applied, clinical, public health and social care research funded by the Department via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).The NIHR’s funding for research includes support for research infrastructure which is critically important in providing the resources, support and facilities that the National Health Service needs to conduct first-class research across the full pathway of discovery science to evaluation. The sustained, long-term funding to put in place through the NIHR infrastructure has been widely recognised as having transformed the health research environment in the United Kingdom. For example, there has been five-fold increase in early phase (phase I and phase II) trials since 2009 within the NIHR early translational research infrastructure in the NHS (2,842 phase I and phase II trials in 2017/18 compared to just 496 in 2009/10).The MRC are also currently undertaking an evaluation of 10 years of MRC-funded translation research which is expected to be completed in September 2019.The MRC and the NIHR also work in partnership through the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme which funds studies evaluating interventions with potential to make a step-change in the promotion of health, treatment of disease and improvement of rehabilitation or long-term care.

HIV Infection

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many finished consultant episodes there were with a (a) primary and (b) secondary diagnosis of HIV infection in (i) England and (ii) each region in each year since 1989.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



Data on HIV diagnoses are not available by hospital consultant episode, or by primary and secondary diagnosis.Public Health England (PHE) routinely collects data on people confirmed newly diagnosed with HIV care in the United Kingdom. Data on those newly diagnosed and resident in England and each PHE centre of residence from 1981 to 2017 are available to view at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hiv-annual-data-tables

HIV Infection

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) outpatient and (b) inpatient appointments were (i) emergency and (ii) elective with a (A) primary and (B) secondary diagnosis of HIV in (1) England and (2) each clinical commissioning group area in each of the last 12 months; and what the average waiting time was for each such appointment.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



The available information for England from NHS Digital is attached. Data at clinical commissioning group level is suppressed and therefore not available in the format requested.



10692_280283_V2.1 formatted
(Excel SpreadSheet, 115.14 KB)

Diabetes: Orthopaedics

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the recent increase in diabetes-related amputations.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



Evidence suggests that multidisciplinary footcare teams (MDFTs) play a major role in a good diabetes footcare pathway and can significantly reduce amputations and subsequently the financial burden of diabetic foot disease.The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment to “ensure that all hospitals in future provide access to MDFTs and diabetes inpatient specialist nursing teams to improve recovery and to reduce lengths of stay and future readmission rates”.Since April 2017 NHS England has made £26 million available through the diabetes transformation funding to put in place 41 new or expanded MDFTs, reducing the risk of people with ulcers or other diabetes foot disease from having an amputation.

Silicosis: Health Services

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the effect of silicosis on the NHS budget and resources.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



This information is not held in the format requested.

Silicosis

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on whether there is a (a) genetic, (b) socio-economic and (c) ethnic bias to the condition of silicosis.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



Information about genetic bias in patients with silicosis is not held centrally.The following table shows the number of finished admission episodes where there was a primary diagnosis of silicosis, as well as the ethnicity specified by the patient in each episode, over five years. Ethnicity2013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18ABritish (White)1720171114BIrish (White)31---CAny other White background---1-DWhite and Black Caribbean (Mixed)--111HIndian (Asian or Asian British)1----JPakistani (Asian or Asian British)-1---MCaribbean (Black or Black British)21-1-NAfrican (Black or Black British)--2--SAny other ethnic group----1ZNot stated--3--99Unknown--4-2Total 2323271418Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Digital The following table shows the number of finished admission episodes where there was a primary diagnosis of silicosis, as well as the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) decile relating to each episode, over five years. IMD Decile2013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18Least deprived 10%-2-1-Less deprived 10-20%3241-Less deprived 20-30%14121Less deprived 30-40%---13Less deprived 40-50%12311More deprived 40-50%1131-More deprived 30-40%52422More deprived 20-30%53323More deprived 10-20%43213Most deprived 10%23625Unknown111--Total2323271418Source: HES, NHS Digital Note:Finished admission episodesA finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.IMD DecileThis field uses the IMD Overall Ranking to identify which one of ten groups a Super Output Area belongs to, from most deprived through to least deprived. IMD version 2010 is used from 2010-11 onwards.

Speech and Language Therapy: Children and Young People

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report of the Children's Commissioner entitled, We need to talk: Access to speech and language therapy, published in June 2019, what plans he has to ensure that expenditure data is collected on the support local areas provide for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department is keen to work with the Children’s Commissioner’s Office and other partners on options for producing expenditure data on speech, language and communication services. Officials will discuss this matter at the next available opportunity.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Ethnic Groups

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many BAME staff are employed at (a) grade 7, (b) grade 5 and (c) grade 3 in his Department.

Joseph Johnson: The number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff employed as at 30 June 2019 in Grade 7, Grade 5 (Deputy Director equivalent) and Grade 3 (Director equivalent) roles are summarised in the table below. Where the total number of BAME staff is fewer than 5, the actual number is suppressed to protect anonymity. The following agencies are included in these figures: Education & Skills Funding Agency, Standards & Testing Agency and Teaching Regulation Agency.GradeNumber of BAME staff (headcount)Grade 7174Grade 5 (Deputy Director)12Grade 3 (Director)Fewer than 5The department has an internal Diversity & Inclusion Strategy with a priority of increasing BAME representation at senior grades. We have introduced a range of interventions to attract and recruit more people from diverse backgrounds that include anonymised sifting and more diverse interview panels and we expect to see an improvement in these numbers over the next 2 to 5 years. We recently launched Project Race which aims to improve race equality and tackle disproportionate outcomes for BAME colleagues though outreach, support, and open honest discussion.

Universities: Sponsorship

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to make it a condition for universities to become involved in academy sponsorship or the founding of free schools in order for them to charge maximum tuition fees.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



It is not a condition for universities to become involved in academy sponsorship or the founding of free schools in order for them to charge maximum tuition fees.All higher education (HE) providers in England that register with the Office for Students (OfS) and want to charge more than the basic annual amount for tuition must have an Access and Participation Plan approved by the OfS. Through these plans, providers set out what activities they intend to take to ensure students from disadvantaged backgrounds or under-represented groups can access, participate, succeed and progress from HE.The Schools that Work for Everyone consultation asked how we could best harness the resources and expertise of those in the HE sector to widen access to these institutions for disadvantaged pupils, and to work in partnership to lift attainment across the wider school system. We know that many institutions are already delivering activities to support these objectives and are working closely and effectively with state school partners, but we want to see this good practice adopted more widely and see a greater ambition for what can be achieved through such partnership working.

Ministry of Defence

Bangladesh: Military Alliances

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps she has taken to strengthen defence and security cooperation with Bangladesh.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps she has taken to strengthen defence and security co-operation with Pakistan.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps she has taken to strengthen defence and security cooperation with Sri Lanka.

Stuart Andrew: The UK has strong ties with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, which we value and reinforce through regular defence engagement, exercises and training courses.The Ministry of Defence Permanent Secretary visited Islamabad in March 2019 for the annual Defence Cooperation Forum with Pakistan and regular dialogue continues at senior military level. The Pakistan National Defence University visited the UK earlier this year. Bangladesh also held a National Defence College visit.Defence relations with Sri Lanka were significantly strengthened in 2019 by the appointment of a resident Defence Adviser.HMS Dragon visited Karachi in February 2019 as part of Exercise AMAN, in which Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were also involved. HMS Montrose visited Colombo in April 2019 as part of her deployment in the Indian Ocean and conducted a short exercise with the Sri Lankan Navy.In addition to bespoke training programmes, Bangladeshi and Pakistani cadets are attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2018-19, and there are members of the Royal College of Defence Studies from all three countries.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment and Support Allowance: Lone Parents

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many single parents with dependent children are in receipt of severe disability premium in their income-related employment and support allowance.

Justin Tomlinson: In November 2018 there were 506,000 live cases of income-related Employment and Support Allowance where the claimant was in receipt of Severe Disability Premium (SDP). Of these, 59,000 were in receipt of SDP and identified to be a lone parent.

Personal Independence Payment

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Supreme Court ruling of July 2019, if her Department will review the assessment criteria for personal independence payments for claimants with mental health illnesses that requires assessors to make a distinction between whether a claimant needs prompting to engage with other people or social support.

Justin Tomlinson: The Supreme Court handed down its decision on the case known as MM (SSWP v MM) on 18 July 2019. The case concerns the definition of ‘social support’ when engaging with other people face to face under activity 9 of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Regulations, and how far in advance that support can be provided. The Department will carefully consider the judgment and work with stakeholders to implement it fully so that claimants get the PIP support they are entitled to. This will include reviewing and updating where needed the guidance used for PIP assessments.

Headaches: Employment

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance her Department provides to employers on support to employees with migraines.

Justin Tomlinson: The Fit for Work advice service (FfW), the remaining part of the wider Fit for Work service which closed in 2018, is a government-funded initiative that provides free, general work and health advice to employees, employers and GPs. The advice service is there to support people in work with health conditions, for example workers with migraines (see https://fitforwork.org/blog/supporting-sufferers-of-migraine-at-work/). The Government’s current consultation on work and health: ‘Health is everyone’s business: proposals to reduce ill-health related job loss’, seeks views on how advice and information to support the management of health in the workplace should be provided in the longer term.

Universal Credit: Mental Illness

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2019 on Universal Credit: Mental Illness, whether her Department provides support visits for benefit claimants in secure psychiatric settings.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department is committed to supporting vulnerable claimants, such as those with mental health conditions. We understand that these claimants may face extra challenges in their lives. Universal Credit is designed to target resources at those that need them most and to provide support for people who cannot work or need extra help moving towards the labour market.If a claimant is unable to complete their business transaction through any other channel, a referral for a visit is sent to DWP Visiting. The majority of DWP Visiting work takes place in claimants’ homes, however appointments can be arranged at an alternative place such as a hospital or low secure unit.We recognise the importance of understanding how a mental health condition impacts someone’s ability to prepare for and look for work. That is why we have developed a range of specialised mental health training for work coaches and increased the number of Disability Employment Advisers who can provide additional support where needed. The Department is committed to the provision of a safe and healthy working environment for employees and claimants, therefore all our visits, irrespective of location, are individually risk assessed which determines the most appropriate means of engagement.

Universal Credit: Severe Disability Premium

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants have lost the severe disability premium following a change of circumstances since the inception of universal credit in (a) Wales and (b) each parliamentary constituency in Wales.

Justin Tomlinson: It is not possible to confirm exactly how many people in (a) Wales and (b) each parliamentary constituency in Wales became ineligible for the Severe Disability Premium (SDP) following their move to Universal Credit (UC) due to a change in circumstance. This is because each case must be individually assessed to determine whether SDP eligibility would have continued following the end of their claim to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) or Income Support (IS). Information on claimants of JSA and IS in receipt of SDP who have moved to Universal Credit would incur disproportionate cost in response to a Parliamentary Question. Regulations announced by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 22 July 2019 provide support for claimants who were entitled to the SDP, and who have already moved to UC. From 24 July 2019, these claimants will be considered for backdated payments covering the time since they moved to UC. We estimate that by 2024/25, approximately 45,000 of the most vulnerable claimants will benefit from this package of support, worth an estimated £600million over the next six years.

Universal Credit: Severe Disability Premium

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timeframe is for her Department to bring forward legislative proposals for severe disability premium to be available under universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department laid The Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 before Parliament on 22 July 2019. This means we can identify claimants who are potentially eligible for Severe Disability Premium transitional payments and start making these payments as soon as possible. From 24 July 2019, eligible claimants will be considered for backdated payments covering the time since they moved to Universal Credit. We estimate that by 2024/25, approximately 45,000 of the most vulnerable claimants will benefit from this package of support, worth an estimated £600million over the next six years.

Silicosis

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the effect of silicosis on her Department's budget.

Justin Tomlinson: Under the Industrial Injuries Scheme (IIS), silicosis is compensated for under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 lump sum scheme and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB). Under the 1979 Act lump sum scheme, the department has paid out £41,382 over the financial years 17/18 and 18/19 to claimants and their dependants affected by silicosis. Under IIDB, awards for silicosis are made under prescribed diseases which include other medical conditions. Unfortunately, as this information is not immediately accessible, and would require the merging, filtering and quality assuring of complex datasets, data on these claimants could only be provided at disproportionate cost. For Personal Independence Payment (PIP) the latest data on claims in payment can be broken down by month from April 2013 to April 2019 and by disability (including silicosis) can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. The latest data on PIP expenditure broken down by disability subgroup including pneumoconiosis, of which silicosis is one disease, is published and can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/741592/pip-expenditure-by-medical-condition-2017-18.ods For Employment Support Allowance (ESA), there is high level data stored on medical conditions on the Department’s data base; Stat-Xplore. However, at present this data has not been broken down to include conditions such as silicosis. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Silicosis

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the effect of silicosis on (a) productivity in the UK and (b) productivity of the construction industry in the UK.

Justin Tomlinson: The Health and Safety Executive does not have data on the effects of silicosis on productivity, either generally or for any specific sector.

Silica

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to regulate exposure to silica; and what recent assessment her Department has made of the extent of compliance with those regulations.

Justin Tomlinson: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates exposure to silica primarily through the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). COSHH requires employers to ensure substances which may be harmful to people’s health through their work activities are identified and assessed; and processes are put in place to eliminate or control risks. Silica is also subject to workplace exposure limits (WELs), which set out maximum exposure levels to hazardous substances. The most harmful form of silica is respirable crystalline silica (RCS). HSE has produced a range of freely available guidance to demonstrate what compliance with COSHH and good control practice looks like across a range of industries, available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/index.htm. HSE has also produced internal operational guidance that outlines the initial enforcement expectations where HSE’s inspectors encounter problems related to RCS during regulatory interventions. These form a benchmark against which compliance can be measured on an intervention-by-intervention basis. Overall compliance is assessed on an industry-by-industry basis. In 2009, HSE published Research Report RR689 ‘Silica Baseline Survey’ that provided intelligence on exposure and control of RCS in key industry sectors. In the intervening period, RCS has remained an important issue within HSE’s inspection programme for the relevant high-risk sectors. For example, HSE recently conducted an inspection initiative between 17th June 2019 – 12th July 2019 that focussed on RCS and other dusts in the construction industry. The extent of compliance is considered as part of HSE’s evaluation work of such workstreams alongside other significant risks.

Silicosis

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the groups most vulnerable to silicosis.

Justin Tomlinson: Evidence from a body of epidemiological research shows that the risk of silicosis increases according to the extent of exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Groups most vulnerable to developing silicosis are those with the highest exposures. A range of sources of evidence – including reports of silicosis cases from chest physicians, cases assessed for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, and epidemiological studies – have identified specific worker groups that are at likely to be at highest risk. These include: quarrying; slate works; foundries; potteries; brick and tile making; stonemasonry; construction work involving cutting or breaking stone, concrete or brick; abrasive blasting and tunnelling; and industries that use silica flour to manufacture goods.

Silica

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps have been taken to encourage the construction industry to protect workers from exposure to silica.

Justin Tomlinson: Protecting construction workers from exposure to silica has been a priority for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for a number of years. During this time, HSE has used a range of approaches to influence the construction industry. These include: Providing tailored advice, information and guidance on HSE’s website about complying with the law in this area;Raising awareness through HSE social media presence as well as engaging with industry through mechanisms such as the Construction Dust Partnership and the Health in Construction Leadership Group;Undertaking research with the industry to increase the evidence base available;Carrying out targeted inspections. This includes a national inspection initiative undertaken between 17th June 2019 – 12th July 2019 that focussed on silica and other dusts in the construction industry. This will be repeated in October 2019;Taking enforcement action where appropriate to prevent ill-health and hold law-breakers to account. Silica exposure amongst construction workers will continue to be a priority for HSE while it remains a significant issue. HSE will look to evolve the intervention approaches it uses during this period to maximise its influence.

Personal Independence Payment: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people who claimed personal independence payment in Wales in each year since its inception.

Justin Tomlinson: The latest available data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) registrations, clearances (whether the claim was awarded, disallowed or withdrawn) and claims in payment can be found on Stat-Xplore at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. This data can be broken down by region and by month. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

Home Office

Immigration: EU Nationals

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU citizens (a) have been and (b) will be prevented from obtaining settled status due to the technical inability of the settlement scheme app to convert pre-settled status into settled status.

Caroline Nokes: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 25 July 2019.The correct answer should have been:

The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it. Each case is carefully considered on its individual facts and merits in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw.Our assessment of the situation in Sudan is set out in the relevant country policy and information notes, which are available on the Gov.uk website.Where someone establishes a well-founded fear of persecution or serious harm in their country they are normally granted protection and are not expected to return there.No EU citizens have been or will be prevented from obtaining settled status due to the technical inability of the EU Settlement Scheme app to convert pre-settled status to settled status. The online process which will allow an applicant to convert their pre-settled status to settled status is on track to be available from the end of July 2019. Currently, applicants who have obtained pre-settled status can make a fresh application to the scheme by contacting the Settlement Resolution Centre.

Caroline Nokes: The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it. Each case is carefully considered on its individual facts and merits in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw.Our assessment of the situation in Sudan is set out in the relevant country policy and information notes, which are available on the Gov.uk website.Where someone establishes a well-founded fear of persecution or serious harm in their country they are normally granted protection and are not expected to return there.No EU citizens have been or will be prevented from obtaining settled status due to the technical inability of the EU Settlement Scheme app to convert pre-settled status to settled status. The online process which will allow an applicant to convert their pre-settled status to settled status is on track to be available from the end of July 2019. Currently, applicants who have obtained pre-settled status can make a fresh application to the scheme by contacting the Settlement Resolution Centre.

Scotland Office

Food Banks: Scotland

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he plans to visit a food bank in August 2019.

Mr Alister Jack: I currently have no plans to visit a food bank in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland in August 2019.

Scotland Office: Ethnic Groups

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many BAME staff are employed at (a) grade 7, (b) grade 5 and (c) grade 3 in his Department.

Mr Alister Jack: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers.Detailed information in relation to the ethnicity of staff is not held by the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland; this information is held by the parent employers.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessments the Government has made of the potential effects on (a) the economy, (b) policing and (c) public safety of the UK not leaving the EU; and if they will publish those assessments.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government does not hold this information; the EU will determine its policy direction once a new Commission takes office on 1 November. The British people voted to leave the European Union and the Government is committed to delivering this by 31 October.However, in November 2018 the Government published analysis of the long run economic impact of leaving the EU across a range of scenarios, and a separate assessment of the Future Security Partnership. It is worth noting that the UK only participates in certain parts of the EU policing acquis.

Treasury

Wills: VAT

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing VAT from wills that include a charitable donation.

Jesse Norman: Under current EU law, it is not possible to remove VAT on fees for writing wills where those wills include charitable donations.